eCite Digital Repository
The diet of itinerant male Hooker's sea lions, Phocarctos hookeri, at sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island
Citation
McMahon, CR and Hooley, D and Robinson, S, The diet of itinerant male Hooker's sea lions, Phocarctos hookeri, at sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, Wildlife Research, 26, (6) pp. 839-846. ISSN 1035-3712 (1999) [Refereed Article]
DOI: doi:10.1071/WR98079
Abstract
Scats were collected from itinerant male Hooker's sea lions, Phocarctos hookeri, at Macquarie Island and the uneroded faunal remains used to assess the diet. Uneroded sagittal otoliths were used to identify teleost fish and to calculate fish size. Prey items included 14 taxa of teleost fish, cephalopods, gastropods, crustaceans and fur seals. Fish constituted the primary component of the diet. Prey species previously uncommon in the diet of seals and penguins around Macquarie Island were commonly eaten by Hooker's sea lions. The sub-Antarctic horse fish (Zanclorhynchus spinifer) and the Patagonian tooth fish (Dissostichus eleginoides) were the two most abundant species and occurred in 62.5% and 41.7% of all scats respectively. There were no age-specific and individual differences in the diet of sea lions. Seasonal variances in diet were absent. Small plastic fragments (diameter ~1 mm) were found only in association with otoliths of Electrona subaspera. Some overlap was seen between the diet of itinerant male Hooker's sea lions and the commercial fisheries that currently operate around Macquarie Island.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Ecology |
Research Field: | Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
Objective Group: | Coastal and estuarine systems and management |
Objective Field: | Assessment and management of coastal and estuarine ecosystems |
UTAS Author: | Robinson, S (Dr Suzanne Robinson) |
ID Code: | 16827 |
Year Published: | 1999 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 40 |
Deposited By: | Zoology |
Deposited On: | 1999-08-01 |
Last Modified: | 2011-08-05 |
Downloads: | 0 |
Repository Staff Only: item control page